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Monday, 3 September 2012

The wave of international condemnations continues against the Iraqi forces’ vicious Monday attack on Ashraf residents during the inspections of the 6th convoy headed to Liberty.

Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former president of the German Federal Parliament Bundestag, the International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf representing 8,500 jurists from around the world, the International-Parliamentary Campaign in Defense of Ashraf and Klaus Bresser, former chief editor of German 2. TV ZDF, issued statements strongly condemning the Iraqi forces’ violence against Ashraf residents.

Criticizing and protesting UNAMI’s inaction vis-à-vis these illegal measures and flagrant aggressions, these dignitaries and societies stressed that the Iraqi government’s aggressive measures against Iranian regime dissidents have raised international abhorrence. They emphasized the UN and US government have the obligation to condemn these violent measures and use all means at their proposal to prevent any similar reoccurrence.

Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former president of the German Federal Parliament Bundestag

Wednesday, 22 August 2012

The top U.N. official in Iraq directed his staff to cover up the prisonlike conditions of a relocation camp for Iranian dissidents in reports to the world body, said a former U.N. official who has resigned in protest.

In his first interview since leaving his post, Tahar Boumedra told The Washington Times that Martin Kobler, U.N. special representative for Iraq, wanted the dissidents relocated quickly to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. Army base near Baghdad’s airport, and then moved out of Iraq.

Mr. Kobler “misled [the U.N.] headquarters in New York, Washington” and the dissidents about conditions at Camp Liberty in his rush to move them from Camp Ashraf, where they have lived since 1986, said Mr. Boumedra, the former human rights chief at the U.N. mission in Baghdad.

Mr. Boumedra said he “got the shock of my life” when he first visited Camp Liberty in December.

“I had visited a lot of prisons but that place was worse than a prison,” said Mr. Boumedra, an Algerian activist who has promoted human rights and penal reform in North Africa and the Middle East for many years.

Containers that had been used as soldiers’ living quarters were piled high with trash. Doors dangled from their hinges, and windows were smashed.Iraqis vandalized the camp after U.S. troops left, he said, and facilities were in utter disrepair.

Mr. Kobler “asked us to go back and take pictures of the camp and the facilities, and make sure that the most appealing pictures are to be put in a file and presented to the residents and the diplomatic community that, ‘Here is a camp of high standards, meeting all the refugees’ requirements,’” said Mr. Boumedra, who left Iraq in May.

“He asked me, and I underline this, that we make sure that ‘sellable pictures,’ be used,” he said. “I found myself fabricating reports and doctoring pictures in order to mislead my organization, the international community and the Ashrafis.”

About 2,000 of Camp Ashraf’s more than 3,000 residents have been transferred to Camp Liberty under a deal brokered by the United Nations. The first group arrived in February.

The Iranian dissidents and their supporters, including a bipartisan group of lawmakers and former U.S. officials, have complained since January about substandard living conditions at Camp Liberty.

“It is regrettable that such a distorted picture is being presented of the efforts of the United Nations in Iraq to resolve peacefully the situation of Camp Ashraf,” said Jared Kotler, a New York-based spokesman for the U.N. Department of Political Affairs, which oversees the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq.

Mr. Kotler said the U.N. mission under Mr. Kobler’s leadership has worked “diligently and impartially to facilitate a peaceful solution that respects the rights and concerns of both the residents and the government of Iraq.”

“These efforts are one of the main reasons why this very tense situation has not already spilled over into further violence,” he added.

Dispute over living conditions

Known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MeK, the dissidents sought the overthrow of Iran’s theocratic regime in the early 1980s, and Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein gave them refuge at Camp Ashraf, a base near Baghdad. After Saddam’s overthrow in 2003, U.S. military forces disarmed the dissidents, who renounced violence in 2001.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, an ally of Iran, has sought to shut down Camp Ashraf, which Iraqi forces have attacked several times with deadly results. The dissidents fear that Mr. al-Maliki will turn them over to Iran, where they expect they would be imprisoned, tortured or executed.

The U.N. brokered a deal with Iraqi leaders to move the dissidents to Camp Liberty.

Mr. Boumedra, the lead U.N. official in talks with the Iraqis to close Camp Ashraf, said he advised Mr. Kobler not to accept a memorandum of understanding that came out of those talks because the Iraqis were dismissive of international human rights standards.

Saturday, 18 August 2012

"No American President wants to see our values tarnished such as we saw in April 2011 and no President wants to go into election with blood on his hands"

General General James Conway, Commandant of the US Marine Corps (2006-2010)

The New York Times published an article by Scott Shane in which 'anonymous' State Department officials once again pop-up to hatch new conspiracies against the MEK (PMOI), the Iranian pro-democracy opposition to the mullahs in Iran. Apart from the hot-air and flawed arguments which sharply contradict official UN reports, realities on the ground have a more rational advice:One should not go above the law and act as tyrants would expect. It is beneath US values to be entrapped in Tehran's scenario.

Facts contradict FLAWS

The article highlights "the groups' refusal to relocate" but fails to shed light on reasons for the deadlock. This will no doubt leave the blame on the MEK, unless readers compare a list of more than 100 breaches of agreement, harassments and looting carried out by the Iraqi government, as well as engineered plots to dismantle the group, under US-UN inaction.

Many reports have been released by wikileaks and recently by the Iranian resistance that revealed complicated plots by Iranian Intelligence and directives involving foreign embassy staff and lately the UNAMI chief Martin Kobler, to make life hard for the dissidents in both camps, in order to stop their opposition against Tehran.

The article blames the victims for being victimized while whitewashing two bloody massacres by the Maliki government condemned in the Spanish Court of justice as crimes against humanity. The article says, "both American and United Nations officials have urged the group to complete the move to avoid further violence."

It is true to say that when one's enemy (Tehran) becomes one's Savior, our paradigm shifts. We lose our sense of direction and morality; the good becomes the bad and victims become villains. Under all this bravado the 'anonymous' State Department 'tippers' would blame the coming massacre on the defenseless refugees who are 'protected persons' and should be secured by the US under R2P laws.

The true intention of the article is not so obscure as the two 'anonymous' State Department officials diffuse annoying antics that lead readers to assume the situation at both camps is "heaven on earth" with more than enough "video-games and sodas" to last all 3400 residents a lifetime.

Reality Besmirched, Conditions Greatly Inhumane

- The Maliki government has breached (1) the agreement it signed without the consent of the residents with the UN.- On August 10, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's official report (2) classified "Liberty," where 200 MEK members relocated out of goodwill gesture to pressures by the US-UN, as a 'detention centre' and not a refugee camp. It is therefore, careless of the State Department officials to believe that vociferous pranks could shade over realities.- On August 10, UN rights experts warned of 'massacre' in Iraq's Ashraf camp. (3)- Family members of Ashraf residents are being persecuted (4) and on the verge of death (5) because of the US Blacklisting that provides the best alibi for the increasing violence towards MEK prisoners of conscience.- Unlike claimed "comfort" in Ashraf and Liberty, the Iraqi government is at loggerheads with each request of the residents. Dubious tactics frame the residents for the blame. Therefore, while US-UN observers are present; the Iraqi counterpart valiantly accepts some of the requirements that abide the red lines defined by Tehran. After the agreement, Iraqi officers controlling the camp provided splitting-hair excuses that exhaust the residents and practically make it impossible (6) to retract the agreed needs.- There are immoral and inhumane sides to the Iraqi degrading treatment of the residents; corpses of some of the deceased residents has not been allowed (7) to be buried, as part of a psychological campaign to demoralize the residents.

It is time for Hillary Clinton to do what is right

It is therefore, a tragic irony and bitter immorality that the US State department wishes to enchain MEK, not because the camps are 'paramilitary' but because the residents are fighting for their privileged rights: generators, refrigerators and the right to stay safe.

It is time for Mrs. Clinton to do what is right and just and not what the 'job' would require. We can write history on both the dark side and the bright side.

Delist the MEK before thousands of our families and relatives are victimized.

Mahin Saremi escaped from Iran, after arranging for her husband's memorial ceremony and seeing her son in Camp Ashraf. She was under surveillance, but escaped before she could be taken to Evin Prison. One of the organisers of the 2009 uprisings, she transferred video clips and news to the outside, avoiding government censorship. Many of her friends are in prison and on trial for Moharebeh.

Monday, 30 July 2012

Iranian demonstrators purportedly took to the streets in a rare act of public defiance last week, but not over corruption, unemployment, or social and political reform.

The protests were reportedly over chicken, which has become the latest symbol for Iran’s deepening economic malaise.

Videos circulating on social media websites purported to show demonstrators marching in Neishabour, a city located about 500 miles northeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran. In one YouTube video, a number of people could be seen lining a street in Neishabour chanting slogans critical of the nation’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Others chanted against the rise in prices. Photos posted to blogs in iran appeared to show similar scenes from the northeastern province, though, the videos and pictures could not be independently verified.

Recent discontent in Iran has focused on rising prices of food staples, such as poultry. Many Iranians blame the government and tightening international sanctions over the country’s controversial nuclear program for the economic decline and rising inflation.

The price of chicken in Iran has increased nearly threefold in the past two months. Chicken now sells for around 80,000 rials a kilogram, roughly $6.15.

Earlier this month, one senior government official caused a stir when he urged Iranian state television to avoid broadcasting images of people eating chicken. Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, chief of Iran’s national police forces, announced at a press conference that pictures of poultry could spark social unrest, with potentially unforeseen consequences.

“They show chicken being eaten in movies while somebody might not be able to buy it,” said Ahmadi Moghaddam in mid July. “Films are now the windows of society and some people observing this class gap might say that we will take knives and take our rights from the rich.”

Meanwhile, one of Iran’s top-ranking conservative clerics has been doing his part to quell concerns over what some are calling Iran’s “chicken crisis.”

“We see that many people are shrieking over the price of chicken. But what’s the worst that can happen if one doesn’t eat it? The overwhelming majority of doctors say that meat products don’t make for good food,” said Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, according to state media.

The four-year BA courses are due to start in the autumn at two higher educational colleges run by the Iranianprison service.

Their introduction offers an insight into the theocratic regime’s priorities at a time when large numbers of political prisoners are being held and some prisons are packed to six times their capacity, according to Iran’s prison’s chief, Gholamhossein Esmaili, who has said there are 220,000 inmates nationwide.It follows the scandal at Kahrizak detention facility in Tehran after the bitterly disputed 2009 presidential election, when several detained protesters – including the son of a prominent government scientist – died in custody. A parliamentary inquiry subsequently concluded the deaths were due to injuries inflicted by their jailers.

The new courses coincide with the abolition of several social science degrees at prominent institutions, including Allameh Tabatabai University, which will cease to offer a journalism course in the next academic year.Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a halt to the expansion of a range of social sciences degrees, including women’s studies, human rights and law, after declaring them “founded on materialism” hostile to Islam.

By contrast, the jail warden courses – offered under the title “Judiciary Aid Work” – have the highest official blessing after senior prison officials spent three years preparing them.Nasser Rabiei, deputy director of the Iranian prison service’s education and research centre, told the Arman newspaper that they would bring jailing practices “up to date”. He said 80% of enrolled students would be recruited from among existing wardens.

The newspaper Jam-e Jam, citing official statistics, reported that 80 new inmates are admitted to Iran’s prisons every day. It said that under the country’s penal code, Iranians could potentially be imprisoned for more than 1,640 separate offences, many of which are not considered crimes in most countries.Drewery Dyke, Iran researcher at Amnesty International, said the courses could improve some inmates’ conditions but that prisoners of conscience may not benefit. “However much training there is, it’s not going to be allocated to the parts of prisons controlled by the intelligence services and revolutionary guards, where political prisoners are kept.”

Iran’s nuclear facilities have suffered a cyber attack that shut down computers and played music from the rock band AC/DC, the F-Secure Security Labs website said.

A new worm targeted Iran’s nuclear program, closing down the “automation network” at the Natanz and Fordo facilities, the Internet security site reported, citing an email it said was sent by a scientist inside Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

The virus also prompted several of the computers on site to play the song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC at full volume in the middle of the night, according to the email, part of which is published in English on the website.F-Secure Security Labs, which is linked to F-Secure Oyj, the Finnish maker of security and cloud software, said that while it was unable to verify the details of the attack described, it had confirmed that the scientist who reported them was sending and receiving the emails from within Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

Iran’s nuclear program and oil facilities have been subject to a succession of cyber attacks that the Foreign Ministry said in May were launched by hostile governments as part of a broader “soft war.” Iran accuses the United States and Israel of trying to sabotage its technological progress. Both say Iran’s nuclear activities may have military intent, an allegation that Iran denies.Mikko Hypponen, chief security officer at F-Secure Security Labs and the person involved in the correspondence, said he received three emails on July 22 from an individual with an aeoi.org.ir email address, receiving replies after he responded. After researching the person’s name on the Internet, Hypponen said he found “plenty of nuclear science papers and articles published by someone with this name.”

“I can’t confirm that the person was who he said he was. And I can’t confirm any of the things he said actually happened,” Hypponen wrote. “But I can confirm I was emailing with someone who had access to an aeoi.org.ir address.”

Saturday, 28 July 2012

Mr. Koblers’ new road-map has a spirit of shocking deceptions, fallacies and inverted claims; intently ignores dire needs of residents; no further relocation with such plots A document(1) received from sources inside Iranian government has reveale

Baghdad (I-Newswire) July 26, 2012 - The same sources report that, Mr. Kobler, UNAMI chief in Baghdad, had UNAMI rent Hotel Yamameh for a similar plot at the beginning of July. This hotel was mentioned by Iraq's security advisor as a second Temporary Transit Location (TTL) for MEK members in Camp Ashraf, in the memorandum of understanding, signed by Mr. Kobler.

One Document displayed in Iranian opposition Television, Simay-e-Azadi, disclosed a full time contract between the “Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad – Trade Counsel," bearing the signature of the "Islamic Republic of Iran – Ministry of trade – Trade Counsel – Bagdad" and an Intelligence agent named “Mehdi Nejatnia” and the Iraqi government. The hotel was to house 400 MEK members who were in the fifth convoy going to camp Liberty; It alleged to be used as a concentration camp against the pro-democracy group; MEK.

According to sources in Iran, UNAMI proposed to buy the contract with a higher bid to persuade the GoI into a new contract with the UN agency.

Mr. kobler visited his counterparts in Iran in May 2012 to negotiate matters. The visit coincided with the fifth convoy of Camp Ashraf residents leaving for Camp Hurieh (Liberty). The operation that was to relocate the refugees peacefully to third countries was hustled by the Iraqi government stopping short of a third assault on the residents. Hundreds of breaches were reported in consecutive statements by the Iranian opposition office in Paris (NCRI), resulting in a stalemate.

The visit drew a negative response that back lashed in resolutions and written statements by the residents, their representatives, lawyers, parliamentary groups and dignitaries in Europe and the U.S.

On 24th of April, on return from Iran, Maliki's security advisor, Faleh Fayaz Al-Ameri disclosed UN participation in a Tehran engineered scenario to handle its fierce opposition in Camp Ashraf.

The objective was to wear down MEK members in an abrasive process of negotiations, without manifesting results, in order to relocate; scatter and gradually repatriate them back to Iran.

Al Ameri disclosed that: “Mr. Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq, has talked in details with Iraqi and Iranian parties through the Iranian Embassy or other channels communicating with Iran in order to provide the requirements for implementation of the ..to close camp Ashraf and put an end to the presence of this organization on Iraqi territory. Talks included the mechanisms and Iran’s role in what has to be done to solve this matter…”

The opposition disclosed in a recent statement that UN representative had participated in a dozen meeting with its Leadership, and residents have exchanged at least 40 letters and proposals with much leniency to resolve the crisis. Each time the UN Special representative has introduced plans and no deeds.

Mr. Kobler’s current “road map” is believed to be related with recent revelations and following his trip to Iran. In a letter to the opposition leadership, he was said to have expressed his intent: “We are in contact with the Iraqi government on a roadmap to relocate camp Ashraf “

In a statement released by the NCRI the “road map” is rejected as having “shocking deceptions, fallacies and inverted claims." The office dubbed the “attrition process” as repetitious hollow promises that started since December 18, which are only adjustments to “Iraqi governments’ patience” rather than the resident’s most primary needs such as drinking water from city sources or lift trucks that would prevent physical labor of residents under sky-high heat of 65 Celsius.

“In this Road map, similar to previous ones, all the humanitarian requirements of the residents like water, electricity, and utility and personal vehicles and forklifts have been postponed to an unspecific and unclear arrangement.”

Previous drafts had unfulfilled promises include:

- Camp Liberty’s water supposed to have been connected to the city water before the month of Ramadan.

-Electricity problems were to be resolved by resident’s own power generators, some looted by Iraqi government and others yet not allowed to be taken to Liberty. With rising temperatures, lack of electricity in the camp has become a threat to life.

-Residents were to auction their belongings in Camp Ashraf to accommodate for expenses such as food, electricity and livelihood in Prison Liberty with UN observance. Merchants have been threatened and intimidated by the GoI, leaving no possibility for transactions.

- Every small need of everyone is inspected; re-considered, checked and sometimes deleted by Iraqi government agents. Residents have paid more than 2 million dollars only to buy fuel over the past five months.

NCRI statement emphasized: “Mr. Kobler is repeating once again the identicle scenario in order to evict and relocate the remaining residents to Liberty's prison only based on hollow promises without provision of the humanitarian minimums. In practice, this is the same plan of the Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxies to compel the Iranian opposition to submit and surrender."

While Mr. Kobler tones “suppressive” moves by GoI as a “generous” move, the ‘Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’ of the Human Rights Council in a recent letter has rebuffed his empathy to the Iraqi government calling “deprivation of liberty...a violation of international law.”

The opposition leader Maryam Rajavi initiated a proposal last December, to curb attempts by Tehran. The proposal involved either her participation in talks with the GoI, or a conference chaired by Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) and a decision making Iraqi officials and to resolve the crisis. (NCRI statement January 2, 2012 statement).

Both initiatives were rejected by the Iraqi government.

Mr. Koblers passionate applause of “generous” achievements of the Iraqi government in the “Liberty” deal has now taken new meaning.
It seems the UN is finally providing its true shades to the world.

Notes:
1- Iranian Intelligence plot Iraqi Hotel to relocate MEK members in Iraq:“This document stipulates that: “We (the Iraqi Government) put our conditions to members of the organization and want them to submit eventually.... In many cases the UN justifies Iraqi conditions and demands the members of PMOI to accept them, because Liberty is Just a transit location and their stay in there will be a short one.”

Based on this document, the government of Iraq would complain that “not all of the UN mission are in total agreement with the government of Iraq, however, SRSG Mr. Kobler specifically agrees with all Iraqi government’s demands. We believe he does not want to oppose the Iraqi government and to obscure his relation with the Iraqi government for the sake of PMOI.” The PMOI has raised some demands “We show positive reaction to these demands to collaborate with the UN, but these demands will never be fulfilled. The Iraqi government and it’s negotiator have only agreed to discuss the minor and unimportant issues. The issues which do not have serious implications in the situation like field medical visits or delegations which are less important issues. The government of Iraq would react strongly to some of the demands posed by the residents.... the new camp should be based on the needs of the Iraqi government and not the needs of the members of the Organization, the Iraqi government will not relent from the main issues”.

2- Protect Iran's Freedom Fighters in Camp Ashraf-Time: Apr. 18, 2011

3- Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its sixty-third session, 30 April–4 May 2012

The GoI has assigned Labeed Abbawi, Iraqi deputy Foreign Minister, to exhaust all his efforts to hinder all measures by the UN various bodies with regard to Ashraf and to not participate in the committees formed by these bodies.

In yet another move, Hajj Ali Navidi, the agent of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in the regime’s embassy, has staged banquets for three successive days for a number of Iraqi merchants, engineers and clergies aimed at activating them in favor of mullahs’ regime’s interfering policies in Iraq. Most of the invitees refused to participate in the banquets.

After the recent mediatic bravado by the US State department that conditioned its belated legal obligation to the evacuation of a refugee Camp in Diyala province of Iraq, the situation has evolved into a humanitarian time bomb.

A committee of 4000 European lawmakers issued a report to the Security Council on the escalating humanitarian crisis in two Camps that house members of the pro-democracy opposition to Tehran, MEK.

The report which has been prepared in 10 sections, after reviewing the events in the past three months in two camps of Ashraf and Liberty, presents urgent and necessary requirements for the conclusion of relocation of the residents to Liberty in 10 and 5 articles respectively to the Security Council and while appealing for the Councils’ support.

The core message of the report is sharply accentuated over the ongoing diplomatic tussling of the US during pre-election nuclear talks with Tehran:

“Any relocation (of residents) to Liberty without providing the minimum (needs of residents) might bear catastrophic consequences to the residents…. The first step should be by the SRSG (Martin Kobler) to report the obstructions of Iraq with no reservation to the Security Council calling for its active intervention.”

The report specifies that the Government of Iraq (GOI) has repeatedly violated the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ since seven months ago when it was signed by the GOI and UN, and has infringed most of the pledges it has given through the UN and U.S. government to Ashraf residents for relocation to Liberty.

“There is no substance … at least 8 points have remained unresolved including connection of Liberty to the city water network or pumping water from a river adjacent to the camp, transfer of the main generators of 1.5 Mega Watt, allowing the sale of the movable and immovable properties and its start, constructions of special facilities for disabled and ill people, transfer of the six utility vehicles, three vehicles and 6 trailers for the disabled, transfer of 5 forklifts and 50 passenger cars. They (residents) have constantly restricted their demands with maximum goodwill seeking a peaceful relocation. But the GOI has not abided by its commitments.”

Unilateral pressure compelled on the leadership of the residents to accept the inhuman conditions imposed by Iraqi forces at the behest of Tehran, have been condemned by majority of votes in theItalian, Egyptian, Canada, Malta, Lithuania and the European Parliament.

The majority members of the U.S. House of Representatives and dozens of the most prominent former U.S. national security officials have defended the rights of Ashraf residents and have been critical of the U.S. for reneging of its legal, political, and moral obligation to the residents.

With no running water, no electricity at night, vipers roaming free, no access to doctors or lawyers, and excrement from the broken sewage plant running around the dwellings like a stream, any comparison between Camp Liberty and a concentration camp is not out of sarcasm.

What the government of Iraq is planning to do with residents in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty is frighteningly reminiscent of what Hitler did to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942.

In a recent statement, the opposition appealed to the International community for intervention over the approaching “heated “ month of fasting (Ramadan) and the shortage of water, which is the result of a long term plot to dehydrate the residents.

“It is past time to supply water by tankers for 2000 inhabitants at Camp Liberty and if the camp would not be connected to the city network or water channel expeditiously, the situation would become more critical.”

Instead of speaking out about the truth and being critical of the Government of Iraq for its violations of the MoU, an anonymous U.S. official lambasted the group of U.S. dignitaries, including three Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces; an attorney General; two directors of CIA; a Secretary of Homeland Security; and a Director of FBI; who have called for adhering to the U.S. commitments and principles.

High stake diplomacy will take its toll. The Question is how much UN and US representatives are willing to compromise humanitarian foundations?

The report by 4000 lawmakers has this to say:

“It would be very regrettable if the SRSG or the U.S. Secretary of State’s Special Advisor put the residents under pressure for resuming relocation instead of pressuring the GOI to fulfill these demands. We strongly believe that continuation and completion of relocation must be done after these minimums are met.”

MoU Agreements Unilaterally Breached by Iraq Under US-UN observation. Residents would move only after the minimum humanitarian requirements are fulfilled.

In early July, vice-President of the European Parliament and President of the International Committee In Search of Justice declared a 10-point requirement plan, on behalf of the 4000 parliamentarians across Atlantic that introduced basic needs of 2000 Iranian dissidents relocated to Camp liberty;

Only after the head of Camp Liberty, Sadeg Kazem, was detained by French police for being perused by the Spanish Court for Crimes, Liberty residents have been facing intense harassment by Iraqi “plain clothed” anonymous agents who prevent food and water supplies delivery to the camp.

The residents’ representatives have repeatedly asked UNAMI representatives to compel Iraq to abide by its commitments and demanded that the police inspect the food trucks, but this has been rejected by the Suppression Committee, which is acting on behalf of the Maliki office and at the behest of Tehran.

Consecutive press statements by the opposition offices convey aggravated humanitarian situation for the residents already relocated at the new Camp Liberty. Extreme shortage of water, electricity and sewage sanitation at the camp; harassment of residents under pretext of controlling relocation; preventing food supplies from entry;looting property during relocation to second camp; stationing of armored vehicles and Iranian Intelligence agents at camp vicinity are akin to the previous trend which ensued a humanitarian disaster on April 8 2011.

One statement mentions that “the GoI is putting maximum pressure on Ashraf residents to continue relocation to Camp Liberty” without meeting residents’ needs under various pretexts.

The residents say their personal belongings and assets are being looted and prevented from relocation to the second camp even after detailed talks and agreements between US-US representatives with the opposition Leadership in Paris. “Ashraf residents and their representatives had presented the necessary requirements for resuming further convoys and relocation of all Ashraf residents to Liberty in six items since two months ago, which has not been fulfilled yet despite US and UN insurances. The US observer, Ambassador Daniel Fried was quoted to have this to say :

“We too heard the unfortunate news of the return of the utility vehicles. We will follow up with the Iraqi authorities to determine why they took this strange and seemingly unhelpful step”.

The statements also imply that the critical humanitarian situation prevailing in two camps simultaneously are heightened by two wrong signals both initiated by the US and UN:

The US black listing of the opposition (MEK) has been acting as a green light for the Iraqi Prime Minister to clamp down on Tehran’s opposition on behest of Terhan.

Simultaneously, conceding Camp Liberty as a Temporary Transitional Location (TTL) has served to disengage constructive obligations and justified the Iraqi government continuous breach of the MoU.

In the most recent statement by the NCRI (A Political coalition that embodies main ethnic-political and religious groups of the Iranian opposition front) a new ploy is unraveled to fail the relocation efforts by the International community and point the finger on the MEK.

Following numerous meetings with the representatives of the residents, the dignitaries from both side of the Atlantic, representatives of the US and UN; the President of International Committee in Search of Justice and Vice-president of the European Parliament, on behalf of more than 4,000 parliamentarians across the world, set the minimum humanitarian requirements: the basics for a refugee camp that has to provide 3400 people habitat, in a barren land under temperatures mounting to 56 degrees.

Transfer of 300 air conditioners from Ashraf to Liberty.

Transfer of all the power generators that are currently in Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty. If there is any dispute about the ownership of the generators, they can be resolved in the future, under supervision of UN.

Transfer of 25 trucks, containing the belongings left over from the fourth and fifth convoys,8 and six utility vehicles about which there had already been an agreement.

Transfer of five forklifts from Ashraf to Liberty for the purpose of moving the residents’ belongings.

Transfer of three specially-designed vehicles and six specially-designed trailers for the disabled.

Transfer of 50 passenger cars from Ashraf to Liberty. It means one car for every 40 residents, which is absolutely necessary in the hot weather and for wounded and disabled residents.

Permission for construction, including the building of pavements, porches, canopies, ramps, special facilities for the disabled and green areas.

Connecting Liberty to Baghdad’s water network. Alternatively, the residents should be permitted to hire Iraqi contractors to pump the water into Liberty from a nearby water canal and bringing their own water purification system from Ashraf.

Allowing merchants or bidders access to Ashraf to negotiate and buy the movable properties as soon as possible and to make advanced payment and start making partial payments to the residents before the resumption of the relocation of the next convoy.

Start of negotiations between the residents and their financial representatives and the Iraqi Government to sell the immovable assets and properties, or negotiations with third parties (Iraqi Government should provide permission) to sign the necessary agreements. Partial payments should be made before the relocation. At least 200 residents would remain at Ashraf to maintain and upkeep the properties until they are sold in their entirety.

Impediments inflicted by the Maliki government are occurring while the prime minister is under impeachment by the Iraqi parliament for violation of Iraqi Constitution and his close interaction with Tehran.

The heightening trends of economic and political ties between Iraq and Iran in recent months reveal best Iraqi final intentions on the issue; abide with agreement made with Iranian Supreme leader to behead Tehran’s main opposition, MEK.

Recently Tehran had declared that exchanges between the two countries has risen by 50% during the last Iranian year 1390 (March 21, 2011- March 21, 2012 ) compared to previous year thus reaching 9.7 billion dollars, and it will further reach 12 billion dollars in the current year. The Iraqi government therefore has played a major role in relieving the Ayatollahs of the pressures inflicted by International sanctions.

Al-Maliki’s loyalty to the ayatollahs has proved to be effective in the past. Every visit to Tehran in the past two years has given fruit to a murderous attack on the Iranian dissidents and exiles in the camp. Tehran has passed seven consecutive deadlines to expatriate to Iran or kill the dissidents through Baghdad in the past. Each of the deadlines had humanitarian consequences and has so far resulted in 56 deaths and thousands maimed and injured.

The plot today is however more disguised. With the presence of the UN and the US, it would be to the best advantage of Tehran to conceal its apparatus under the guise of the UN-US observation.

The situation as such is a reminder of the Warsaw Ghettos’ humanitarian disaster, when the Nazis had planned the genocide from long before and lured their victims to their ‘death camp.’

The paradoxical tragedy can be prevented if the UN-US play their distinctive roles; impel Iraqi government to its obligations and de-list the group from the US list that has provoked the situation.

Iraqi forces stationed all around and inside Camp LibertySleeping area in Camp Liberty

After the recent mediatic
bravado by the US State department that conditioned its belated legal
obligation to the evacuation of a refugee Camp in Diyala province of Iraq, the
situation has evolved into a humanitarian time bomb.

A committee of 4000
European lawmakers issued a report to the Security Council on the escalating
humanitarian crisis in two Camps that house members of the pro-democracy
opposition to Tehran, MEK.

The report which has been
prepared in 10 sections, after reviewing the events in the past three months in
two camps of Ashraf and Liberty, presents urgent and necessary requirements for
the conclusion of relocation of the residents to Liberty in 10 and 5 articles
respectively to the Security Council and while appealing for the Councils’
support.

Saturday, 14 July 2012

Last week, the State Department released a deadline for evacuation of Iranian opposition Camp Ashraf, leaving the residents only one choice: go to a prisoncamp Liberty.

This statement is not only shocking for the Iranian community but also a charade that only fulfills election purposes at the expense of another Srebrenica; this time at the doorstep of Washington.

Slaughtering so blatantly the basic right to life of 3400 opposition refugees under the eyes of world media only has one alarming message for the American people:

It does not take a bloody Srebrenica or a blatant execution of an Afghan woman in public to test a Nation's morality. Officially garbling the truth about basic human rights violations in Camp Ashraf-Liberty by Iraqi forces loyal to Iran is what it takes to bury American integrity. Once past the threshold, no Nation will survive the creeping corruption that would follow.

Men make history. They can also crumble it to ashes.

State department officials made irresponsible and obstructive remarks in their recent statement to the press. It is obvious for the active Persian community inside, and outside Iran that the comments were a consequence of a deadlock in foreign policy well interpreted by the Iranian regime as a weak sign.

It will not, however, wash away practical obligations of the US towards international humanitarian law; Negligence of the Dutch government during the massacre that occurred in the Bosnian town in 1995 was recalled by international courts.

Depriving People Of Basic Rights

Camp residents are practically asked to deprive themselves voluntarily of basic rights that we all take for granted such as:

Power generators that provide drinking water and electricity, air conditioners and fridges to allow minimum life conditions in soaring temperatures.

Camp Ashraf has its own Air-conditioner that will save the residents in the overheated Liberty camp. They must be allowed to transfer all of them to provide for the overcrowded and prison like conditions in Liberty.

Their own cars that allow mobility for the injured. (many intentionally injured by Iraqis)

Their own portable property that could be sold to support the residents for food and water.

Five trucks that were stolen from the fifth convoy during their relocation, along with five forklifts must be allowed to be taken to Liberty as personal integrity of the refugees.

Refugees cannot be prevented from making pathways or shades for the handicapped and personnel at their own expense. Plants cannot be refused entry into Liberty if the residents can afford them. Even in Prisons, prisoners can buy items if they are affordable.

Merchants or bidders must be allowed access to Ashraf to negotiate and buy the movable property as soon as possible and to make advanced payment and start making partial payments to the residents before the resumption of the relocation of the next convoy. The Iraqi government slick attempts to harass and threaten the merchants in every approach to hamper the process must be stopped.

Iraqi Government should provide permission to sign the necessary agreements to sell property in Camp Ashraf with third independent parties present. Iraqi mishandling and looting of property has left no room for trust and therefore, residents preconditions must be legitimized.

Supporting The Iranian Opposition

As a former political prisoner and current exile, having spent five years in Iranian regime torture chambers, I can proudly express my profound support for the Iranian opposition members in both camps. The splendour of being able to repel a religious tyranny for the sake of mankind is always challenged by negative rhetoric in an ad hominem manner. There are more than 1000 women in the Camp; each testimonial of the excruciating struggle of women against misogyny and Islamic fundamentalism. At least, 1000 former political prisoners and living proof of unspoken atrocities of the Clerical fascists are surviving under the 50 degree Celsius heat without basic needs such as drinking water and food.

We do not have to reach far to appreciate heroes. We do not have to watch and react after a Srebrenica to bring to justice those responsible for War crimes.

Undoing State Department Damage

To revitalize smeared morality, the State Department can undo the damage it has caused the nation:

Stop lies; stop delays; act according to the Law and side with Justice

There are practical steps to be taken. Every dictator is an enemy of freedom, an opponent of law and Justice. If the Obama Administration was to prove its grandeur before the elections, it must take the ultimate leap and draw a strong and permanent red line with the Tyrants:

Respect calls by 630 world politicians and policy makers who defended the dissidents in both camps and demanded the US to stand decisively against Iraqi manipulation of the MoU.
Support the appeal by the European parliament to recognise Camp Liberty as a refugee camp and respect the 10 fundamental needs of the residents, which will be provided by their own sources and funds.
Stand by the side of the true heroes in Camp Liberty and camp Ashraf: This is the key to regional peace.

Sima Kamyar is a former political prisoner, Chairwoman and spokesperson of the Iranian Cultural Society Sweden. Simas family has been victims of the clerics in Iran. Her niece was executed during the 1988 massacre of 120 000 political prisoners, in which inmates aged from 13 to 96 were executed collectively.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Nima SharifIn an “on-the-record conference call” with journalist, officials from the State Department, Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Daniel Benjamin and Special Advisor to the Secretary on Camp Ashraf Ambassador Daniel Fried, pressed members of the Iranian opposition movement living in Camp Ashraf to leave the camp and move to Camp Liberty in Baghdad in order for the Secretary of State Clinton to ‘possibly’ remove the name of the organization, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list of the Department. They complained that there has been no relocation since May 4, 2012, when the last group of 400 dissidents left Ashraf for Camp Liberty.

"The Iraqi government, clearly at the behest of the Iranian regime, is preventing any basic items to be moved to Camp Liberty or facilities be established there, of course at the expense of the residents. Water, electricity, proper sanitation, and cooling systems in a 130F (55°C) heat, while you are willing to pay for it yourself, is not too much to ask for and is certainly not maximalist."

The officials failed to state clearly the reason why the move is not taking place, specifically the humanitarian situation at Camp Liberty which by no means meets international standards. In fact, after 2000 residents of Camp Ashraf have already moved to Liberty, the camp can no longer accept more residents due to lack of basic living needs such as water, electricity and sewage system and etc...

Residents of Camps Ashraf and Liberty are members of the main Iranian opposition movement, MEK, that have lived for years in Iraq fleeing persecution by the Iranian dictatorial regime. But the current government of Iraq, having close ties to the Iranian regime, has been persecuting the exiles in their home of 25 years which is called Camp Ashraf situated at about 80 miles north of Baghdad. In two separate attacks on the camp in 2009 and 2011, total of 47 residents including 8 women were killed by Iraqi forces as the American forces nearby looked away. Video shots of the April 2011 massacre on YouTube, shows Iraqi officers directly shooting at unarmed residents who empty handedly tried to prevent the Iraqi forces from taking over their homes.

In 1997, the Clinton administration, in a move to win favor with Iran’s then new, so-called moderate president, Mohammed Khatami, blacklisted Iran’s main opposition in exile, MEK. But the passage of years since the war in Iraq and fall of Saddam Hussein, have proven that the group is not a terrorist organization and is no threat to the United States. On the contrary, MEK is a legitimate opposition movement, trying to bring a democratic change to Iran and advocates peace, democracy and freedom, and separation of church and state for that country.

A court ruling in Washington on June 1 this year called on the Secretary of State to decide whether to continue listing of the group or delist them by October 1 or, otherwise, by the order of the court, the group will automatically be removed from the Department’s FTO list.

But the Secretary of State has subjected the delisting to a move from Camp Ashraf to Liberty by the residents, who are members of the MEK, and a successful closure of the camp. While such contingency is not defined by law and it should be unlawful for the Secretary to declare such conditions for delisting, the MEK has already committed to the closure of Camp Ashraf in order to prevent further bloodshed of the residents at the hands of the Iraqi government.

The MEK has convincingly demonstrated its desire for a peaceful solution. 2000 residents have already moved to Camp Liberty and the remaining, about 1200, have publicly stated that they are ready to depart as soon as humanitarian conditions at Camp Liberty are brought up to standards and minimum living requirements for 3200 people at the 0.5 km2camp allocated to them are met.

But the Iraqi government, clearly at the behest of the Iranian regime, is preventing any basic items to be moved to Camp Liberty or facilities be established there, of course at the expense of the residents. Water, electricity, proper sanitation, and cooling systems in a 130F (55°C) heat, while you are willing to pay for it yourself, is not too much to ask for and is certainly not maximalist.

The Department of State should stop threatening and pressuring the already under pressure and defenseless residents of Camp Ashraf, to give up basic human rights and surrender to a forcible move to Liberty. Instead, it is expected from the United States to press the government of Iraq to respect the human rights of the residents and allow them access to basic needs that they will acquire at their own expense, thus, facilitating further move of the remaining residents to Liberty. It is perfectly legitimate for the residents to ask to have access to running water, and not for the water to be delivered by tanker on daily basis. It is totally unacceptable that in 21st centaury people be forced to live in such condition. What is absolutely appalling is that both UN and U.S. are supporting this inhumane condition simply because they do not want to jeopardize their relation with Nouri al-Maliki.

Ambassador Fried that, in his view, the residents should not ask to take their own personal cars to Camp Liberty is shocking. The question is why should there be any restriction on the residents to take their own properties. They are being unlawfully evicted by the Iraqi government, ironically supported by the US and UN Secretary General Special Representative, and yet are even denied the right to take their own property. The Iraqi government has so far even prevented the disabled to take their indispensible facilities, without which they cannot survive. Yet, the UN and State Department are blaming the residents for not moving ahead while keeping silent on the Iraqis suppressive measures.

Using FTO listing to force the resident to move into an inhumane environment is nothing but blackmail. It intends to force the MEK to trade delisting of the organization with the well-being and safety of its members in Iraq. That is something that is not becoming of a well respected, internationally known and recognized movement for freedom and democracy. It is not the MEK Iranians know. It will not happen. The safety and security of the residents should have priority to every other consideration including delisting of the MEK.

On the other hand, it would bring much shame to the Department of State to deceive the Iranian exiles, who are there fleeing persecution at the hands of the mullahs’ regime, into walking into what may well turn into their killing field.
Camp Liberty

The contribution of the PMOI to help organize such a huge and diverse event, by far larger than most Western party congresses or presidential conventions, undercuts the U.S. State Department’s assertion that the group is "marginalized" and "irrelevant." It also served to rebut similar allegations fabricated by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence, which the State Department continues to rehash that this is a "sect" suffering from a "cult of personality" and "lacking popular support".

To my knowledge, never before in history has an opposition movement been able to organize such a convention outside of its homeland. The very diverse composition of the participants, representing different religious denominations, secularists, liberals, conservatives, young, the elderly and women, was striking.

Since no government provides material support to the PMOI, this huge event was only made possible after months of fundraising by Iranian volunteers and support committees throughout the world. I know of people who took bank loans or even mortgaged their houses to sponsor this convention.

Former U.S. Home Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently described the movement as "the strongest and most resilient advocates in the history of the world."

Despite its decades of efforts to establish freedom and democracy in Iran, western states have only cracked down on it in the framework of appeasement policies towards Tehran coupled with an ongoing fear of the mullahs' terrorism.

In fact, the support that this medieval regime has received from the West goes far beyond any other dictatorships in recent Iranian history. One might be astonished to know that the U.S. policy during the past decade has actually strengthened the ayatollahs and hampered their opposition. A few examples:

The invasion of Iraq, which brought to power the pro-Tehran government of Nouri al-Maliki;

Enchaining the only remaining organised opposition to the mullahs through its inclusion on different blacklists and confining their members in a de facto house arrest in Camp Ashraf, Iraq;

Ignoring the NCRI’s repeated warnings about the mullahs’ nuclear ambitions and talking for the sake of talking with Tehran;

Breaching the U.S. forces signed agreement, which guaranteed the protection of Ashraf residents in return for their voluntarily disarmament, which led to two massacres in 2009and 2011 by the Iraqi forces while U.S. troops simply watched.

The blacklisting of PMOI hamstrung nearly all the energy and resources of the democratic opposition in lengthy and exhausting legal battles in Europe and the US instead of allowing them to focus on bringing about a democratic change in Iran.

During the past decade, the Iranian resistance has filed no less than 36 lawsuits in Europe and America confronting various blacklists. And guess what? It has won in all 36. The latest ruling came last month in Washington when a three-judge panel unanimously ordered Secretary Clinton to make up her mind about the PMOI status or the court will remove it from the State Department's list of terrorist organizations by October 1.

As the historical leader of the resistance, Massoud Rajavi, once said: “Wherever there is still a drop of freedom and justice left, we can prove the righteousness of our movement."

The mullahs tried hard to prevent the June rally by sending numerous letters to French authorities as well as organising anti-PMOI pickets to frighten the participants.

No less than 55 distinguished political figures and personalities including former New York mayorRudy Giuliani, former Democratic Party Chairman Gov. Ed Rendell, former US Ambassador to UN Gov. Bill Richardson, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley were among the US dignitaries who addressed the event.

This week, a decade after the resistance exposed the mullahs’ twenty-year clandestine nuclear weapons program for the first time in August 2002, Europe has finally imposed oil sanctions on Iran. These latest sanctions had been demanded by the NCRI for the past three decades. Thus the Iranian resistance has shown its ability to change a world policy while swimming against the tide.

Now if the U.S. genuinely does not want to hand over a nuclear bomb to the mullahs, it should stand with the democratic opposition to overthrow this regime and recognize their demands. As Mrs Rajavi said in the Paris gathering, "Our demand is simple: an Iran free of suppression, a non-nuclear Iran, and a non-theocratic Iran."

The contribution of the PMOI to help organize such a huge and diverse event, by far larger than most Western party congresses or presidential conventions, undercuts the U.S. State Department’s assertion that the group is "marginalized" and "irrelevant." It also served to rebut similar allegations fabricated by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence, which the State Department continues to rehash that this is a "sect" suffering from a "cult of personality" and "lacking popular support".

To my knowledge, never before in history has an opposition movement been able to organize such a convention outside of its homeland. The very diverse composition of the participants, representing different religious denominations, secularists, liberals, conservatives, young, the elderly and women, was striking.

Since no government provides material support to the PMOI, this huge event was only made possible after months of fundraising by Iranian volunteers and support committees throughout the world. I know of people who took bank loans or even mortgaged their houses to sponsor this convention.

Former U.S. Home Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently described the movement as "the strongest and most resilient advocates in the history of the world."

Despite its decades of efforts to establish freedom and democracy in Iran, western states have only cracked down on it in the framework of appeasement policies towards Tehran coupled with an ongoing fear of the mullahs' terrorism.

In fact, the support that this medieval regime has received from the West goes far beyond any other dictatorships in recent Iranian history. One might be astonished to know that the U.S. policy during the past decade has actually strengthened the ayatollahs and hampered their opposition. A few examples:

The invasion of Iraq, which brought to power the pro-Tehran government of Nouri al-Maliki;

Enchaining the only remaining organised opposition to the mullahs through its inclusion on different blacklists and confining their members in a de facto house arrest in Camp Ashraf, Iraq;

Ignoring the NCRI’s repeated warnings about the mullahs’ nuclear ambitions and talking for the sake of talking with Tehran;

Breaching the U.S. forces signed agreement, which guaranteed the protection of Ashraf residents in return for their voluntarily disarmament, which led to two massacres in 2009and 2011 by the Iraqi forces while U.S. troops simply watched.

The blacklisting of PMOI hamstrung nearly all the energy and resources of the democratic opposition in lengthy and exhausting legal battles in Europe and the US instead of allowing them to focus on bringing about a democratic change in Iran.

During the past decade, the Iranian resistance has filed no less than 36 lawsuits in Europe and America confronting various blacklists. And guess what? It has won in all 36. The latest ruling came last month in Washington when a three-judge panel unanimously ordered Secretary Clinton to make up her mind about the PMOI status or the court will remove it from the State Department's list of terrorist organizations by October 1.

As the historical leader of the resistance, Massoud Rajavi, once said: “Wherever there is still a drop of freedom and justice left, we can prove the righteousness of our movement."

The mullahs tried hard to prevent the June rally by sending numerous letters to French authorities as well as organising anti-PMOI pickets to frighten the participants.

No less than 55 distinguished political figures and personalities including former New York mayorRudy Giuliani, former Democratic Party Chairman Gov. Ed Rendell, former US Ambassador to UN Gov. Bill Richardson, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley were among the US dignitaries who addressed the event.

This week, a decade after the resistance exposed the mullahs’ twenty-year clandestine nuclear weapons program for the first time in August 2002, Europe has finally imposed oil sanctions on Iran. These latest sanctions had been demanded by the NCRI for the past three decades. Thus the Iranian resistance has shown its ability to change a world policy while swimming against the tide.

Now if the U.S. genuinely does not want to hand over a nuclear bomb to the mullahs, it should stand with the democratic opposition to overthrow this regime and recognize their demands. As Mrs Rajavi said in the Paris gathering, "Our demand is simple: an Iran free of suppression, a non-nuclear Iran, and a non-theocratic Iran."